It is known in the art relating to dressings for indwelling catheter access sites to use self-adherent protective bandage tape or clear film product alternatives that use non-sensitizing hypoallergenic adhesives to cover all or part of the indwelling catheter access sites. Some dressings combine non-woven tape and absorbent gauze-like materials which have skin-mating surfaces of non-adherent film to reduce the effect of adhesive stripping caused by the dressing removal. The absorbency and bacterial barrier of the pad typically varies minimally from one manufacturer to another, but this type of dressing is least occlusive to moisture vapor.
One known dressing system includes an opaque pad for adhesive placement over an access site and an adhesive strip, for adhesive securement to the skin of a patient under a catheter tube as it emerges from underneath the pad, and between the skin and the pad along the edges of the pad in opposite directions from the tube exit location.
A known transparent type dressing includes a transparent film that does not adhere to the wound site to be viewed. This transparent dressing allows for the placement of a gauze or other absorbing material beneath the transparent film layer over the wound in order to provide absorbency thereby defeating the ability to view the wound site.
Applicant has provided and disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,124,520 and 6,124,521, a more sterile, reliable and uniform dressing for a vascular access site, that allows the access site to be viewed without removal of any opaque pad and having a transparent film that adheres to the wound site. This dermal wound window dressing protects an indwelling catheter access site, while providing simultaneous absorbency of moisture, visualization of the skin/cannula exit point and mechanical securement of the indwelling catheter having a securement system for edge sealing around the indwelling catheter where the catheter tube extends from under the dressing. The disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,124,520 and 6,124,521 is incorporated by reference herein this application.
Applicant has made further improvements to dermal wound window dressings which improve moisture removal and reduce manufacturing costs.